§ 66‑25.  Acceptable listings as to safety of goods.

(a) All electrical materials, devices, appliances, and equipment shall be evaluated for safety and suitability for intended use. Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, this evaluation shall be conducted in accordance with nationally recognized standards and shall be conducted by a qualified testing laboratory. The Commissioner of Insurance, through the Engineering Division of the Department of Insurance, shall implement the procedures necessary to approve suitable national standards and to approve suitable qualified testing laboratories. The Commissioner may assign his authority to implement the procedures for specific materials, devices, appliances, or equipment to other agencies or bodies when they would be uniquely qualified to implement those procedures.

In the event that the Commissioner determines that electrical materials, devices, appliances, or equipment in question cannot be adequately evaluated through the use of approved national standards or by approved qualified testing laboratories, the Engineering Division of the Department of Insurance shall specify any alternative evaluations which safety requires.

The Engineering Division of the Department of Insurance shall keep in file, where practical, copies of all approved national standards and resumes of approved qualified testing laboratories.

(b) Electrical devices, appliances, or equipment used by the Division of Prisons of the Department of Adult Correction in institutional kitchens and manufacturing equipment used by Correction Enterprises are exempt from the evaluation requirement of subsection (a) of this section.

(c) The Department of Administration, Division of Purchase and Contract, shall not seek to enforce the provisions of subsection (a) of this section by any means, including requiring acceptance inspections or additional testing of electrical materials, devices, appliances, or equipment purchased by State departments, agencies, and institutions. (1933, c. 555, s. 3; 1989, c. 681, s. 1; 2013‑289, s. 11; 2014‑100, s. 16C.4; 2015‑241, s. 16C.13A; 2017‑186, s. 2(rrrr); 2017‑211, s. 6(a); 2021‑180, s. 19C.9(p).)